I May Be Wretched
by Peanuckle
Summary: An Infested Terran reflects on his new purpose and his old life. Minor Violence.


**A/N: This is a one-shot glimpse into the mind of a fallen (or is it raised?) warrior. For story purposes, this infested terran is not just a biological bomb, but a functional soldier.**

I do not own Starcraft. If I did, I would not be sitting here writing fan fiction about it.

---

Long, so long ago it was that I was able to feel the wind on my face, on my skin. Now, a hardened carapace rests over my body, protecting me from the weather, from my enemies and from any feeling.

I was so young, fresh out of boot camp and in my first field deployment. We were all green soldiers, so when the attack came, no-one knew exactly how to respond. The Zerg leveled the base and then surrounded us. They killed those that fought back, but I dropped my gun out of fear and fell to the ground, trying to crawl away. The last thing I remembered seeing as a human was the shadow of a queen flying overheard, then, blackness.

I must have been out for awhile, for when I woke I was still in the base, but it had been taken by the Zerg. Creep laid everywhere and the disgusting… no. The wonderful structures of their design sprung out of it like a garden.

I tried to gaze up to the sky, only to find that the strange growths on my back prevented me from tilting my head up too far. All the better, I didn't need to see the enemies I could not attack.

I felt something in my mind, no words or commands, but rather an innate _desire_, an urge to go to a specific location. The Zerg were more subtle in dealing with us Terrans. Their previous broods had all been instinctive animals, not sentient like us. It was a wasted measure. I felt no enmity towards these creatures, my new brothers, sisters, family. I was at home with them and I viewed the world with such clarity and peace of mind that I had never felt before. It was as if there was no problem in the world that could not be solved, no hurdle that could not be jumped. Truly, the joy of the Zerg was unmatchable.

I followed the thinly veiled commands of the overlord to a narrow pass. There were Terrans there. A small group of marines followed by a Goliath Walker. If they thought they were some kind of reinforcements, they were too little too late. They were walking into a death trap. I gazed around as much as my body would let me and saw my brood everywhere. Zerglings hid in the crevices of the rock wall while hydralisks slithered unseen on top of the ridge. I felt the urge to present myself to them. Very well, if the overlord decided to make me known, so be it.

I stepped out into plain view, holding my hands out in a gesture of non-violence. The reaction was clear on the faces of my once comrades. Disgust. Anger. Fear. They did not understand. I did not expect them to understand that the life I had now was so much more fulfilling that following the commands given by a power hungry dictator, an unimportant governor or some worthless lieutenant. My life was dedicated to the swarm and it felt wonderful.

One of the marines spoke, his coarse human voice, untouched by the glory of the Zerg, grating to my ears. "Look at that, son-of-a-bitch, what did they do to him?"

"Poor guy, I feel sorry fer ya, but I still gotta kill ya." They leveled their guns at me, unaware of the danger approaching from behind. The sound of a Goliath being torn to pieces caught their attention, and I was forgotten.

The battle raged for a few seconds, but the outcome was already decided. I lifted one of the marines off the ground and threw him into the wall. He dropped his gun and fell to his knees. He looked up.

"You worthless scum Zerg! You're nothing but a wretched waste of a life!"

Wretched?

Me?

Anger boiled inside my veins. How dare he! I, who was Zerg, was so many times greater than he! I was a member of a near perfect race! He belonged to a race of children, barely able to defend themselves against the onslaught of the Zerg! How DARE he call ME WRETCHED!

I brought my hidden talons out from my back and skewered him through his shoulders. I pinned him to the wall. At this distance, I could see the stubble on his face, and my reflection in his visor. My face, it was so different. The ventilation tube that allowed me to breath in hostile atmospheres covered much of my face, my eyes blazed red and my carapace gave me the appearance of a dead body. I temporarily lost focus on the marine as I looked at myself in his visor.

I had a small glimpse of my former humanity look through. I was disgusting. The fleshy bits and pieces hanging everywhere like some butcher's shop. The unnatural display of colors on my body. The oddly shaped limbs sticking out of my back.

I was wretched.

My Zerg mind came back to me, crushing the feeble Terran that remained. I was beautiful! The Overmind himself had designed me; before I had even been deployed he had a plan for my kind! I looked again at the marine, screamed wordlessly into his face, and ended his miserable life. I threw his body to the zerglings, who eagerly gobbled it up.

I may be wretched, but I am STRONG!


End file.
